Confessions
by Louis2634
Summary: What would have happened on season 3 episode 1 if things had gone a little differemt in the interragation room. Rated T to be safe.  9-24 changed a few spelling errors that were driving me crazy
1. Chapter 1

**Hi Everyone. This is my first time at trying anything like this. **

**I would like to say that I have enjoyed(and will continue to) all of the great Castle stories. Especially when they(Castle & Beckett) get together. If my story is even half as good as what I have read, I'm ahead of the game.**

**I would like to dedicate this story to 2 people/authors that hold a special place for me;**

**First, to RGoodfellow64. I was going through the ABC Castle boards in March and he(I'm assuming here, if I'm wrong, sorry) had a link for his story 'Is Forever Possible?'. It is a great story and that is how I discovered fanfiction. I'm so addicted to this site now, though, I don't whether to love 'im or hate 'im. I'll go for love. ;) You should read all of his stories('Writing an Episode of Castle' is a great shot at 'lazy' writing).**

**Second, To FanficwriterGHC or Emma. One of the stories I discovered and followed was her 'What Pales in Comparison'. It is a beautiful story and I was so sad to see it end. However, she is gracing us all with her marvelous story 'Of Finding Innocence'. It is beautiful and I look foward to all of her future chapters with bated breath ;) . You've got to read all of her stories, as well.**

**Now, as for my little foray in to Castle-dom, this story takes place in the first episode of season 3 after Castle is arrested by Beckett, Esposito, and Ryan. I know that some of my 'facts' don't exactly go with the show, but there are(as of this submission) around 4700 other Castle stories that are a little off of the show, too(considering that there are only 58 episodes...).**

**Anyway, that's enough of my rambling. On with the show.**

**Oh, Disclaimer; I do not own the Castle show or characters. If I did, I would hire FanficwriterGHC, RGoodfellow64, Dmarx, Susanatc, atheart101, tiff098765, Jillian Casey, Kavi Leighanna, ThePossibilityOfMagic, KBtheMD, XTimeGirlX, Trapped in a MatchBox, cdixon and several others to write for the show. Because with that combination, those 2 would _finally_ get together and it would be entertaining as hell. **

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Confessions Chapter 1

Richard Castle was sitting in the interrigation room, hands folded in front of him, trying to figure out how he got there. Oh, he knew how he got there, just not _how_ he got there. One minute he received a call from a friend asking for help. The next, he was being arrested by three people he thought were his best friends(well, if he was completely honest with himself, 2 were friends, 1 he thought of as hopefully more).

As he was sitting there, just staring ahead, 5 set of eyes were glaring at him through the one-way mirror of the observation room. The three who arrested him, Detectives Javier Esposito, Kevin Ryan, and Kate Beckett, as well as Captain Roy Montgomery and, of course, when she found out, ME Lanie Parish just _had_ to come see this for herself.

Ryan was the first to break the silence, "Sooo, how do we go about this ?"

Esposito responded, not taking his eyes off of Castle, "I'm not sure, man. I mean, the guy knows our playbook back and forth."

Beckett rolled her eyes slightly at the sports metaphor. "We treat him just like any other suspect."

"We should be getting ballistics back, soon." Montgomery stated.

"Well, who's gonna go question him?", Esposito asked.

"We might have to wait." All eyes snapped to Ryan's response. "What? Before I sat him in there..", indicating the interrigation room,"..he asked for his phone call. I didn't hear, but I'm guessing it was his attorney."

Beckett pinched the bridge of her nose. "Great. Just great."

"Well, he knows his rights, so we'll have to wait for his lawyer to show." Montgomery said, agreeing with Ryan.

Kate was a little disapointed to hear this. During the B&D case last year, Rick made the comment that if someone was innocent or had a good explanation, they shouldn't have to worry about a lawyer. Since he apparently called one, he must be guilty of something.

However, when they all saw an officer open the door to let Rick know that the person he called was here, all those thoughts almost disappeared when he was greeted by a certain teenage redhead.

"Hey, pumpkin."

Alexis wrapped her father in a hug. "Hey, Dad. I missed you."

"I missed you too, pumpkin." Rick said, hugging her. They stayed like that for a few minutes.

Inside the observation room, the five sets of eyes softened just a little. While they still held a little of their - for lack of a better term - anger at Castle, they forgot about his family and how they almost considered them a part of _their_ extended family.

When Kate saw Alexis enter the room, the disapointment she felt just minutes before faded away and was replaced with something else. If she had to describe it, she would have to say it was a combination of hope and something else she couldn't quite describe.

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Back in the interrigation room, Rick pulled back a little, keeping his hands on Alexis' shoulders. "So, _daughter_, how was your summer at Princeton?"

"Well, _father..._" Alexis replied. "I'd love to tell you all about it, but I'm curious about why you called me here, instead of when we're back home."

"Well..."

"Did you need my help on a case?" Alexis suddenly had a gleem in her eyes. "Because it was so cool being able to help out with that _Blue Pill_ case last year."

Rick looked at her a little sheepishly. "Not _exactly..._"

Alexis stepped back a step, crossed her arms, and arched her eyebrow. "Okay Dad. What'd you do _this _time?"

Rick was immediately struck by how much her pose reminded him of Kate. "Why does everyone always assume _I _did something?"

Alexis just kept staring at her father, holding her pose. "Remember the time you sneezed all over a crime scene? You were in their doghouse for _weeks_. Then the time you stepped in that goo at a scene and tracked it all over. And _then..._"

"Alright, alright, alright. Point taken." Rick interupted. "But nothing like that happened this time."

Alexis softened her stance a little. "So what _did_ happen?"

In the observation room, five sets of ears perked up with interest. They thought(well, the Captain and the three detectives did, Lanie just liked watching) that when they saw Alexis, they should go in, but decided to let things unfold. Sometimes people opened up more with family.

"Well..." _'Ohboy, how do I begin.'_ Rick thought as he sat at the table. "Early this morning, I was called by an old friend..."

Alexis went to sit down next to her father. "Go on."

"She said she needed my help with something. I asked what it was about. She said she'd tell when she saw me. When I went to her place, I found her. She was shot." Rick paused to compose himself. "She was dead."

Alexis reached out to hold her fathers' arm. "Oh God... Dad.."

"I mean, when I saw her, I..." He trailed off trying to compose himself again. "Being here the past couple of years, I've seen worse, but I _knew _what was coming before I got to a scene. Seeing her like that. Not expecting it..."

"Dad, are _you_ alright?" Alexis asked, gently squeezing his arm.

"Yeah, I'm fine, pumpkin." Rick replied, reaching over to hold her hand. "It just caught me by surprise."

"So, what happened after you found her?"

"Well, after I saw her, I spotted a gun and picked it up..."

He was cut off by his daughter jumping up and looking down at him. "You did WHAT?" She was pacing back and forth. "Dad! All your time at crime scenes, not to mention all your books, and you pick up a _GUN?_ At a _CRIME SCENE?_ You know better!"

"I do know better..." Rick said, trying to calm his daughter. "The only reason I picked it up was that I heard noises, and thought that her killer came back. I know it was stupid, but I wasn't thinking too clear at the moment."

Calming herself, Alexis sat back down. "So, then what happened?"

"As I was saying..." He continued. "When I heard the noises, I picked up the gun, and then.." He thought about how to say this so she wouldn't get upset again. "It was the police."

"Oh. So they brought you here so you could figure out what happened?"

"Not exactly.."

"Well, what then?"

"I was arrested."

"What!" Alexis exclaimed.

"They arrested me." Rick said in a calming voice, trying to keep his daughter calm.

It seemed to work, because she did calm down a little. "So, what? Are you waiting here while Kate and Detectives Esposito and Ryan find out what's going on?"

"Not excactly."

Alexis was getting exaserbated. "Well, _what_ exactly?"

"Theyweretheonesthatarrestedme." Rick membled out.

"Say that again, _slower._"

Rick sighed. "They were the ones that arrested me."

"You're kidding, right?" Rick shook his head. "You're _not_ kidding?" Rick nodded. Alexis pinched the bridge of her nose with her her thumb and forefinger. She was getting a headache.

"Please tell me it was just a formallity." She sighed.

"Not excacty.." He replied, sheepishly.

"Dad! Stop!" Alexis was getting slightly pissed off, if there is such a thing as slightly. "This is like pulling teeth! Give me the whole story! From when you saw them to when you saw me! And don't leave _anything_ out!"

Rick sighed, composing himself. "Alright, pumpkin. When I saw them, they drew their guns, telling me to freeze." He really didn't want to go on, seeing her react to what he just said, but she wanted the whole story, so she'd get it. "Esposito called me a..._interesting_ name. Ryan he..." _'ohboy'_ He thought. "He shot at me and Kate...she handcuffed me. When they brought me in everyone - and I mean _everyone _- looked at me like I was Manson or something." He paused for a moment, collecting himself. "Ryan let me have my phonecall. I called you, and, here we are.

As Alexis was listening, her eyes were getting wider with each passing minute. Detective Esposito calling him a ...name she could maybe accept. But eveyone - and she knew that her Dad included the Captain and Lanie - looking at _her _Dad like that. And Detective Ryan _shooting_ at her Dad. And Kate _handcuffing_ her Dad... She closed her eyes, pinched her nose, collecting herself for a minute. When she opened her eyes, they felt as red as her hair.

She got up and started storming toward the door. "WHERE ARE THEY?"

All of a sudden, four highly trained police officers and a ME were afraid for their lives.

Rick stood up before she could reach the door. "Alexis!" She turned to look at her father, eyes still flaming. "They were just doing their jobs."

"Don't! Don't you _dare_ say 'doing their jobs' ! We're talking about Captain Motgomery, whom you've had poker nights with for I don't know _how_ long, right?" Rick nodded. "We're talking Detectives Esposito and Ryan, whom you've had poker nights and had Malden and Hulu nights.."

"Madden and Halo."

Alexis just glared at her father. "Not now!" She took a minute to composed herself. "And we're talking about Kate Beckett. Your partner for the past two years. The same Kate Beckett you tried to get to before her apartment blew up. The same Kate Beckett that stayed at our home while she looked for a new place, right?" Rick nodded, again. "They're your _friends_, Dad! Friends don't treat each other like that!"

In the observation room, the Captain and three detectives looked down a little sheepishly, while Lanie thought to herself, 'What am I, _chopped liver?_'

"You must have done something to get them that upset." Alexis stated.

"I don't know what. I haven't seen them since..." He trailed off.

Alexis looked confused. "You haven't seen them since _when_?"

"Just before Memorial Day weekend."

"Just before... What?" Alexis pulled out her phone, checking the date. Looking back at her father, she did some quick math in her head. "Nearly _four _months. Why? You didn't say anything about going away when I left for Princeton."

"Well, I needed to get away to the Hamptons so I could finish the second Nikki Heat book, so Gina picked me up..."

"Gina?" She asked, cutting him off. Rick nodded. "Gina! As in 'ex-wife' Gina, Ginzilla, Bride of Ginastien. And those are some of Grams _mild_ names for her."

Rick sighed. "Well, you can relax. By the time we got to the Hamptons, I remembered _clearly_ why I divorced her. I sent her away while I stayed most of the summer to finish the book."

Alexis was confused, her mind going a mile a minute. _'I'm in the Twilight Zone'_, she thought to herself. "Okay." Composing herself, she continued. "Explain something to me. You said you had to 'get away' to finish the second book?" Rick nodded. "Why? You didn't for 'Heatwave'."

"Well..." All of a sudden, a panel on the wall looked interesting.

"Dad!" His eyes snapped back to his daughter. "I want the _whole_ story, just like when you were brought here! All of it!"

"All of it?" Rick asked. Alexis nodded. He sighed, composing himself. _'This is gonna be fun.' _He thought. "Well, it started roughly 5 weeks before I left. We had this case where we were helped out by a robbery detective - Demming..."

Alexis cut him off, suddenly grinning like the cat that caught the canary. "Wait a sec. Did you say _Demming_?"

"Yeah, Demming. Why?"

Alexis didn't answer. She was leaning against the wall laughing so hard, tears were starting to form. She sat back down next to her father. trying to compose herself. When she calmed down, she looked at her Dad. "Lemme guess, his first name was Don, John..."

"Tom."

She couldn't help herself. She busted out laughing again, putting her head down on her arms. The whole scene was amusing the five in the observation room.

After a few minutes of composing herself, she looked looked at her Father. "Oh, Dad. What did he _do_ to you?"

That panel was calling again. "I have no idea what you mean." He answered with a sly grin.

"Dad. Are you forgetting who reads your books before hand. That new character - _Schlemming_." She almost started laughing, but quickly composed herself. "He had to do _something_. In the book he makes the 'Three Stooges' look like they belong in Mensa."

In the observation room, Lanie thought to herself, _'Damn, I'm getting me a copy.'_

Rick looked at his hands, with a sad look on him face. "It's not so much what he _did_, per se."

"Dad?"

He sighed. "When Kate and I were talking to him about the case, he asked.." He was going to use the sports metaphor Demming used, but didn't want an eyeroll. "He asked if there was anything between Kate and me."

"What did you tell him?"

"Well..." He chuckled to himself at the memory. "We both answered at the same time. I said 'not yet' and Kate said 'no'. Kate just looked at me, then back to Demming, repeating herself. 'No'. Nothing else was said about it for the rest of the case."

"Something tells me that's not all."

Rick sighed, looking off in space. "It started gradually. I would always bring Kate her coffee and bear claw in the morning, just to try to brighten her day, you know?" Alexis nodded, encouraging him to go on. "One morning, _he_ started bringing her her coffee and bear claw. Then _he _would start showing up helping on cases..."

Rick cut himself off, getting up to pace back and forth for a minute, before sitting back down. While Alexis was listening, she couldn't miss how sarcastic his voice got and how much _venom_ was in his voice when he said _'he'_. She had a good idea why, but wanted to wait before saying.

"Not only that, one night when I came by, I saw them eating by _candlelight_ and..." He caught himself, running his hand through his hair. Maybe if he didn't say it out loud, he could drive the image of them kissing out of his head.

Alexis was now certain she knew what was going on, but she wanted to hear more.

"Is that why you decided to leave?"

Calming down, he continued. "That was part of it, but that's not what did it."

"What did?"

"Right after you left, I made a decision. I wanted to try to get back that... that spark between Kate and me. So I invited her to the Hamptons for the Memorial weekend..." Alexis arched an eyebrow. "There was gonna be _no_ funny business." He said at her expression. "I just wanted back what we had. Maybe more."

"What did she say?"

"She said she was on call that weekend and couldn't make it. Then, later that night, I heard her and Demming talking about going to a 'Bed and Breakfast' that weekend." He ran his hand through his hair again at the memory. "Later, when I asked her about it, She'd said she forgot."

Alexis didn't sugarcoat it. "She _lied _to you?"

Rick nodded. "Right then, I made a decision. I told her that that case we were working on was my last. That I would be leaving for the summer."

"Did everyone else know... that you were leaving?"

"Yeah." Rick chuckled. "They through me a party and everything. Everyone wished me a happy summer, Gina picked me up, and I left."

Alexis felt her Dad was holding something back. She was almost positive she knew what was going on, but she needed to hear more. "Is that all?"

Rick took a minute, staring in space, composing himself. "It's just that... when you... when you care for someone. _Really_ care, you just...just want their happiness. You hope you're the one that gives them that. But if it's someone else, you... you..." He couldn't say any more. He just trailed off, looking down at the table.

Alexis reached over and placed her hand on her fathers arm, realizing exactly what was going on.

Her father was in love with Kate Beckett

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**A/N : As to why I didn't have them go in the room before Alexis. In every cop show I've seen, the second a lawyer is mentioned, questioning stops.**

**Thank You for reading. I would appreciate all reviews, good or bad. This is new to me and any advice would be loved. I have a thick skin so you can let me have it if you desire.**

**The second chapter will be up soon. **

**Thank You all. (9-24 some errors were bugging me.)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi again, everyone. This is the second and last chapter of my story. **

**I first wanted to say that it has been a blast writing this, frustrating as hell sometimes, but fun(boy am I a sadist or what). This story first popped in my head after reading a chapter of FanficwriterGHC's 'Of Finding Innocence'(Please don't hurt me Emma). I had this story mapped out in my head, but then a funny thing happened when I started typing it out. I'll quote RGoodfellow64 when he said in one of his chapters, 'I knew how I wanted it to start, I knew how I wanted it to end, but the middle fought like hell'. I know that's not the exact quote, but it's close. I felt like I threw away a hundred virtual paper balls. I'm still not quite 100% happy, but as long as people enjoy it, that's OK. **

**Disclaimer: Not mine, if they were not only would all those I mentioned in Chapter 1 be writing, but Stana would have worn an _actual_ bathing suit in the L.A. episode. I didn't see the episode, but those stills(yeesh). **

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Confessions Chapter 2

To say that there was an emotional rollercoaster going on in the observation room - for one individual inparticular - would be like saying the sun was somewhat warm. They ran the gambit. From the warmth when they saw Alexis. The humor of her accusing her Dad of doing something wrong. The terror of seeing Alexis start to go looking for them - especially Kate and Lanie, remembering themselves as teenagers(_brrrrr_), and Roy, having a daughter himself(double _brrrrr_). The guilt of the way they treated Rick. And finally, the understanding of why he left. Kate and Javier sharing a glance, remembering their conversation before Rick left. _'You think he's hanging around to see you with another guy'._

For Kate, the hope that she was feeling was accompanied by the feelings she was growing for Rick over the past two years. She remembered the things he did for her - rushing to her apartment when it exploded and letting her stay at their home. She also remembered things he did to question those feelings - specifically that bimbo from the Bobby Mann case. Then she kept her feelings for him more guarded. When Tom came along, she thought it would be fun. And it was for a while. Then, when Rick told her he was leaving for the summer, it was like someone threw her in a bathtub full of ice. She made the decision to brake it off with Tom and tell Rick she accepted his invitation, but it was too late. When she got the courage to tell him, in walks Gina, and she's so stunned all she can manage is _'Have a nice summer'_.

She, of course, told Lanie(what are best friends for). Admitedly, she gave Lanie the story from her point of view, over liberal amounts of alchohol. And, of course, there was the obvious grapevine. Lanie told Javier who told Kevin and so on until it reached the Captain. 'You hurt one of ours, you get it in _spades_ from all of us' was their motto.

She, along with everyone else, cringed when Alexis stated it matter-of-factly. _'She lied.' _Alexis called her on it and she couldn't deny it.

Those positive feelings really came back when she heard that Gina didn't last that weekend. When she heard that the hope she was feeling was strengthened ten fold.

She knew, without daring to look, that the other four were looking at her by then. She lowered her head slightly, hoping her hair would mask the blush she was feeling and her eyes blinking as she tried to keep tears at bay.

Her hope was tempered slightly when she remembered that Rick was found a short time ago, holding a gun over a dead body.

They were all five brought out of their thoughts by a knocking to the observation room door. Captain Montgomery went to answer. A uniformed officer handed him a folder. The Captain nodded his thanks and went back to the others.

Four sets of eyes were on him as he was reading.

"According to ballistics," The Captain paused. "the gun Castle had was _not_ the murder weapon."

All five shared a sigh of relief.

"Sooo, what do we do now?" Kevin asked as they all looked back in the interragation room.

_What do we do now? _Who knew that five words could cause five different reactions.

Actually, three of them had similar thoughts.

For Captain, he thought about possibly resuming his weekly poker games, his friendship, and seeing seeing Rick - _Castle _- as a fixture around the 12th again. He brought a _something_ to the precinct that made everyone a little lighter. And anything that could help the men and women of his command with morale...

For Kevin and Javier, they shared similar thoughts. They wanted Rick around the comradere, breaking up the monotany, poker nights, and - as Alexis put it - _Malden and Hulu _nights. The most fun they had was watching Kate trying to reign Rick in. As Javier put it, _'Better than Shark Week'_.

Over the summer, with Rick gone, they grew more protective of Kate - like a kid sister - even though she was their boss. Now that he was back - and knowing what they know now...

For Lanie, she wasn't so much thinking about Rick as she was her best friend. She remembered the heartache in Kate's voice when Rick left and the anger she felt at him for hurting her best friend. She made a promise to herself to have him on her autopsy table the hard way. Now, she was watching her friend in a whole new light. She could read Kate better than anyone - except for maybe a certain author(_most _of the time) - and she wasn't quite sure what she was seeing. She recognized the hope she saw in her eyes. As for the rest...

For Kate, hearing the Rick didn't kill that woman increased her feelings. She thought about having him back as a partner, building theory with, doing what they do best. Hearing Rick's feelings for her, the hope was accompanied by other feelings. One she thought was possibly love, but she wasn't sure. She thought she felt this way before with previous boyfriends, but it wasn't this strong. Even though all the good feelings outweighed the bad, the bad still held her back. She knew the playboy image was just that, an _image. _But those doubts still weighed on her mind(like the previously mentioned bimbo).

And because of those doubts, she answered Kevin's question in a whisper. "We should tell him he's free to go and send him home."

The way the four looked at her, you would think she just grew _three_ heads.

Lanie stepped up to her, arms folded across her chest. "Excuse me?"

"I said..."

"I _heard_ what you said." Lanie interupted, pointing at her. "Girl, I should smack you!"

Kate sighed. "Lanie, it's..."

Her best friend cut her off again. "I swear, if you say it's complicated, I _will_ smack you!"

"Guys." Kevin tried to interject.

"Lanie..."

"Don't. I remember how you cried on my shoulder, saying how he.." She continued, pointing at Rick. "hurt you last May..."

"Guys." He tried again.

"Lanie..."

"And it's obvious that there's more to this..."

"Hey!" Kevin almost shouted, getting their attention.

Kate and Lanie both glared at him. "What?"

"I think they're gonna start up, again."

_'Well, in for a penny, in for a pound.' _Lanie thought to herself. She was talking to everyone, but kept her eyes on Kate. "We might as well wait and see, and, _No!_" She emphasised. "We are _not_ just 'sending him home'."

As they turned back their attention to Alexis and Rick, Kate found herself begrudgingly agreeing with Lanie. If she were twins and heard herself say they should just send him home, she would probably smack herself as well. But she couldn't help herself. She's always been cautous with her heart. Even in the past, when she thought she had strong feelings for someone, the doubt always held her back. The positive feelings, the - dare she say - love, could outnumber the doubt by twenty to one, but somehow that one was able to block the twenty. With Rick, Kate was sure the positive was at least ten times that, but that stupid one had a pretty loud voice. She needed something that would shut that one up. Something...

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Alexis sat there, staring at her father, stunned, trying to figure how to go about this. She knew as outgoing as he appeared, it was an image he crafted - well, his publishing machine, for other reasons - to hide his insecurities and inner shyness. She knew what people - well, most people - would say. 'Yeah, yeah. Richard Castle, millionare playboy and author, shy. Ha!' But two failed marriages tend to make you more guarded with your feelings. She loved her mother, and her father wouldn't say anything about why they didn't last, but - knowing her father as well as she does - she knows it was probably more _her_ fault than his. Gina seemed nice enough, as far as she could tell. But they - her father and Gina - never got along that well. That, and the fact that her dad never let the two of them get close, spoke volumes.

Kate was different. It started out innocently enough, if you call bailing your dad out of jail innocent(technically she met her at the last 'Storm' book party, but didn't really talk to her). It spoke volumes about how her dad felt about Kate when he _encouraged_ her to talk to Kate. Helping at the precinct records room, lunch dates, advice, and the time Kate spent at loft. That showed Alexis how highly her father thought of Kate. And, for a time, she thought the feelings were mutual.

Hearing everything her father said - about Shlemm...Demming, and the going-away party - she couldn't understand the anger being thrown her father's way. There just _has _to be something more...

"Dad?" He just kept staring down. "Dad?" She tried again... Nothing. "Dad!"

He looked at her, but didn't say anything.

"Dad, I'm..." She cut herself off. She almost said 'I'm happy for you.', but how do - how _can_ - you say that you're happy that your dad is in love with someone when that someone is with another person.

She tried again. "Dad, I'm confused. If what you said is true, that they all knew you were going for the summer and it's not the end of summer, why would they be mad at you?"

He looked at his hands. "I don't know."

"Did you talk to them while you were away?" That panel was attracting his attention again. "You _didn't_? Not the _whole summer_?"

"I wanted a clean break." He sighed.

She sighed too, remembering what he said. "Okay. I get that. They might be a _little_ mad at you being inconsiderate, but not_ that_ mad." She put her fist under her chin. "There must be something else."

"I don't know what."

"Well, there has to be something." She paused. "Last impressions are usually the strongest, so you must have done or said _something_ before you left to get them mad."

"I don't know what." He repeated.

"Well... let's go down the list and see if you can remember anything." She thought for a minute."We'll start with Captain Montgomery."

Rick thought for a minute. "He said he'd miss my comic relief and looked foward to seeing me in the fall."

She smiled at the 'comic relief' comment. "Doctor Parish?"

In the observation room, Lanie thought to herself, _'Hey, I'm not chopped liver after all'_.

"She made a comment about not having to worry about me touching her tools for the summer."

"Detective Esposito?"

"He made some comment about missing the sharks..." Rick was still confused by that one.

Kate and Javier looked at each other. He smirked. She rolled her eyes.

"Detective Ryan?"

"He said he'd miss me... and my lunch runs." Rick said, with a small smile.

"What?" Kevin said, looking at the other four. "Well, it's true. And I've been..._volenteered_ " He added sarcasticly."..for most runs since he left."

Alexis waited a moment, saving - for lack of a better term - the best for last. "And what about Kate?"

"She said..." Rick paused, thinking for a minute. " She said to have a nice summer."

"Is that all?" Alexis asked, noticing her father's hesitation.

"She..." He paused again, folding his hands together and leaning his forehead on them, thinking back to that time in May.

Kate unconsciously stepped closer to the observation window, watching Rick, hoping for something. What, she wasn't sure.

Behind her, Lanie motioned silently to Javier, Kevin, and Roy. Quietly, all four left, leaving Kate alone in room.

Rick was sitting there, remembering his and Kate's last conversation. Normally, they could read each other, by either body language or the look in their eyes. At the time, he was consumed with the shock for her, as Alexis put it, lying to him and the hurt he felt that he wasn't reading her like he normally would. Now, he was remembering those last couple days without those other feelings. Thinking back to when he told her that that would be their last case, he could see the look in her eyes. If he had to, he would call it a combination of shock and... _hurt_?

Then he was thinking to the day he left. Kate asked to talk to him in private. She seemed so, well, shy. That wasn't a term he would normally use to descibe Kate. But the way she was talking about how she didn't let on what's on her mind, not being the easiest person to get along with, and really enjoying working with him. He has a feeling that she was going to say more, but then Gina walked in. Looking back, remembering the look in her eyes, he can see the shock, the hurt, the...the...

Realization hits him like a ton of bricks. He suddenly stands up, pacing back and forth and holding his hands over his mouth. "Oh God. No." He keeps repeating to himself, over and over. His eyes have a shiny look.

Alexis slowly stood up, watching her father. "Dad?"

He paces back and forth a few more times, repeating the same thing. Then he leans against the wall - where Kate can see him - sliding down in a sitting position, his hand covering his eyes. A pained expression on his face.

Alexis walks over and kneels by her father, placing a hand on his arm. "Dad, what is it?" she asks in a almost whisper.

He lowers his hand, his eyes filled with unshed tears. "God, pumpkin, I messed up so bad." He choked out.

"What do you mean?" She squeezes his arm to encourage him.

"She..she was gonna say yes." He whispers. "She was gonna give _us_ a shot. And I _blew_ it."

"Oh, Dad."

"I care for her so much." He choked out. "She's so special. So... So..." He couldn't get the rest out. Silent tears were running down his face.

Kate flew out of the door, her doubts leaving her just as fast.

When she reached the interrigation room door, Kate slowly opened the door and stepped into the doorway.

Alexis heard the door open. Not breaking contact with her father, she looked at Kate, then returned her attention to her father. "How long?"

Kate knew what Alexis was asking right away. "Since you got here." she whispered, looking down at her hands.

Alexis gave her father's arm a reassuring squeeze, then slowly got up and walked over to Kate. Alexis, surprisingly, had a small smile on her face. "Is any of what Dad said true?"

Kate nodded, blinking to keep her tears at bay.

"Are you seeing..." Before Alexis could finish the question, Kate shook her head. She put a reassuring hand on Kate's shoulder. Kate looked into Alexis' eyes, surprised to see warmth and understanding instead of anger. She was mature beyond her years. "Talk to him." And with that, Alexis stepped out of the room.

Kate went to where Rick was sitting on the floor. She sat down next to him, reaching out to put her hand over his. He turned his palm up, lacing their fingers together. Silent tears were running down her face.

They looked at each other for a few minutes, small smiles on their faces.

"Hi." He whispered.

"Hi." She whispered back.

"I'm sorry." They both said at the same time.

They both chuckled a little. He nodded for her to go first.

She looked at their joined hands, composing herself. "I'm sorry, Rick. I didn't mean to hurt you like that with Tom." She looked up to his eyes. He reached over with his other hand to gently brush away her tears with his thumb. She leaned into his touch. "It's just that, well, with your history.." He started to say something, but she stopped him. "I know it's not all true. That _most_ of it is publicity, but some off it did hurt."

He gently squeezed her hand, encouraging her to continue. "That's why I chose Tom. He was a safe choice, and a little fun." He winced a little at that. "When you said that you where leaving, it was like... like being thrown in ice water. It dawned on me that I wanted to try... with you." She looked at their hands. "But then Gina showed up." she whispered.

Rick sat up a little straighter, bringing his hand up to her chin, gently bringing her eyes back to his. "I'm sorry, too Kate. When I thought you and Demming were going away, well..." He paused, composing himself. "It threw me off, to say the least. The thought of you and him..." She squeezed his hand for him to continue. "All I want is your happiness, Kate. I wanted..." he quickly corrected himself. "I _want_ to be the one to make you happy..."

"I want that, Rick." A smile grew on her face. "I want that with _you_."

A smile grew on Rick's face. "Really?"

"Really."

They sat there staring at each other for a minute. Then, a devious grin grew on his face. Kate raised an eyebrow. "Rick?"

In one quick motion, one of his hands came up behind her upper back, the other under her legs, and he shifted her onto his lap.

"Rick!" She laughed, her arms coming around his neck.

"Yes?" He had a smile on his face. One hand on her thigh. The other gently cradling her neck, his fingers weaving through her hair.

"You know.." her fingers came to rest on his cheek. "we're gonna have to go over some rules."

"Rules?" Their faces inched closer together.

"About public displays." Closer.

"Well, you know how I am about rules..." Close enough that they could feel each others breathing on their faces.

"Let me guess..." She asked in a whisper, biting her bottom lip. "_'Rules were made to be broken'_?"

"Exactly."

Then they each closed that last whisper between them and brought their lips together. It was tentative at first, exploring, learning and teasing all at once. It amazed them both how good, how _right_ it felt.

For Kate, the way his lips felt on hers, combined with the way his hand held her neck and wove through her hair, like she was the most treasured thing on earth, had her wanting this - this _feeling_ - with _him _for the rest of her life.

For Rick, the way she felt in his arms, the way his mouth moved perfectly with hers, had him convinced that this would be the absolute _last_ first kiss for the rest of his life.

After a few minutes, and several light kisses later, they leaned their foreheads together. When they looked into each others shining eyes, there was no more uncertainty. No more doubts.

All they saw was newfound joy.

Newfound happiness.

Newfound love.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Alexis Castle was standing just outside the room, watching what happened. Normally, the thought of watching her father kissing another woman would make her go 'eww'. That was not the case here. She couldn't help the smile that grew watching her father and Kate. She has admired Kate for quite some time now. And while it might be early to go down a certain road, she couldn't help wondering _when _the time came, if she should call her Kate - or _Mom_.

Behind Alexis, four other sets of eyes were watching, each with matching smiles.

For Lanie, Roy, Javier, and Kevin, what they saw warmed them for the same reason. That someone that was a best friend, a surrogate daughter, and like a kid sister, had found happiness after what life had thrown her way made them happy beyond belief. Plus, there was an added bonus of welcoming a good friend back to the 12th(not to mention avoiding having to hide the body and the paperwork that might involve).

Suddenly a thought came to Kevin. Stepping back from the group, he pulled a notepad marked 'pools' out of his pocket. After checking today's date with others in the book, his grin grew twice as wide, and he had to resist the urge to do a fist-pump and happy-dance.

Looks like he'll be able to afford that engagement ring for Jenny after all. ;)

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**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the story. It was fun and I have more ideas that I hope to put out soon. I make no promises on when and I must apolgize to Emma. I told her quite a while back that I would be posting a story soon. Well, better late than never.**

**Please leave a review, good or bad. My skin is thick, so come out with both guns blazin'. I'll be at the bar. ;)**

**Thank You all.**

**Louis (9-24 updated because a few errors were driving me crazy)**


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